Meet Indiana's Libertarian Candidate for 9th District U.S. Congress in 2006 and 2008. Dr. Eric Schansberg has been a professor of Economics at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany for 15 years and has written two books on public policy. Dr. Schansberg is an evangelical Christian who has taught Bible studies since 1990. Eric has been married to Tonia since 1995 and is father to four boys— two by adoption and two the more conventional way.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

quite a day

The day opened with the news that Sodrel backing out on his commitment had sacked the Indiana9/IUS debate in New Albany. Originally scheduled for October 1, Sodrel came up with a fig leaf of an excuse (Congress might be in session-- on a Sunday evening and the beginning of Yom Kippur?...I don't think so!). Then, Indiana9 tried to get a new date for awhile before giving up on what is surely a frustrating process. You'd think this would be easy (in the future, it will be if I'm elected!), but Hill and now Sodrel have worked to make the debates, well, another Washington DC-style screw-up.

This evening, we asked Hill's camp if he wants to participate in some public forum on October 1. It seems like it'd be a great thing for both campaigns and a perhaps fatal blow to Sodrel's campaign-- after what has been a rough week (including guilt by association with the "push poll" controversy) and with him already down in the polls. We'll see...

The other question is why Sodrel would take a positive (given Hill's shenanigans with the run-up to the WTIU debate) and turn it into a black eye for himself-- especially when he's losing the race. One can only guess that being in the debate would cause more damage than backing out-- an amazing consideration. Then again, if one saw the first debate, maybe that's not a stretch. And perhaps he thinks that dropping half a million on TV ads will carry the day, despite this fiasco.

This evening, I attended the FOP candidate event in Columbus. Small crowd but good to meet a few people. Before that, I recorded my radio commercials for the campaign-- that was fun. We're looking forward to making our relatively little media splash. Check back with the website soon for the ads. They were fun to write, to produce, and to strategize.

About Me

First and foremost, I am saved by God's grace as manifested most clearly through the atoning death of Jesus Christ-- and thus, adopted into His family. As a result, I increasingly seek to extend His grace to others in my daily life. On the home front, I am a husband and father to four young men (two by adoption and two the more conventional way). Professionally, I am an economist who loves to teach and is active in public policy circles. Vocationally, I am an active writer and the author of three books (one on the book of Joshua; two on public policy-- one secular, one Christian). Finally, I am the co-author of a 21-month discipleship curriculum, Thoroughly Equipped (and a lighter 36-week version), for developing competent lay-leaders in the Church. Related to that work, Kurt and I have two books, Enough Horses in the Barn and Roll Up Your Sleeves.